Walking the Tightrope
by black-lightning82
Summary: 2 years after the Demon World Tournament, the gang is summoned to Spirit World. There's trouble brewing again, but this time they aren't out to save Human World. It's Demon World that's being threatened. With the help of an unusual demon and her father, the gang must outwit the Shadow Walkers. HieiXOC


Hey guys. Just an idea I wanted to throw out. Let me know if you think I should run with it!

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**Chapter 1: Shadow Walking**

They could sense it immediately. It was a strong energy—a demon energy—that nearly smothered Koenma's steady aura of reiki. Hiei and Kurama exchanged looks. Very few demons were allowed in Spirit World. Even they had had to get a special invitation since Yusuke's second death.

Judging from the look on Kuwabara's face, he could sense it too, but Yusuke remained oblivious to what awaited them. Instead, he focused on trying to ignore the looks he was getting from the ogres and the fact that the Spirit Defense Force was escorting them through the halls, suspicious glares adorning their faces. The gang had been invited here and would no doubt be asked to risk their lives once again due to the incompetence of the Spirit World, and yet they still had the nerve to treat them like this?

With a scowl, he proceeded toward the doors to Koenma's office, kicking them open irritably. The energy, it turned out, was emanating from a man who looked to be in his early 30s—which meant about 80 to 130 in terms of how demons aged. He was of average height but heavy build, muscles straining through his black polo shirt. His shoes were shined, his khaki slacks seamed, and his grey-speckled black hair gelled down in a professional manner, though the 10 black rings tattooed around his left forearm lessened the effect some. He stood, feet apart and arms bent, ready to go in front of Koenma's desk.

"It's quite alright, Akamoto-san. Despite my father's warnings, these are our allies." Reluctantly, Akamoto moved to the side of the desk, revealing the teenage version of Koenma and a girl who looked to be about 15. She gave them a warning glare and accepted a small package from the young ruler, after which she made her way to a corner of the office where a map was laid out on the floor.

"Why are we here Koenma?" Yusuke demanded. "We aren't your Spirit Detectives anymore. Find someone else to do your dirty work."

Koenma gave them a very serious look, silencing the half demon. "You're mistaken if you believe that you are the only ones on this case, Yusuke." Koenma stood and motioned for Akamoto to fetch them some chairs. "Please sit and I will explain the situation."

"So for once, we aren't the only ones being sacrificed for your purposes," Hiei growled, dropping onto the wooden stool and crossing his arms impatiently.

Koenma sighed heavily and turned to face the screen behind his desk. "No, Hiei. You are not the only ones being asked to sacrifice for this one. However, you four are the only ones that I can trust with my proposition."

Kurama frowned. Proposition? If Koenma trusted them with this, then why was the Spirit World Defense Force still at the door? He leaned forward, elbows on his knees and mind working. It must be something big to summon the entire gang out of retirement, especially with their new loyalties in the Makai. Honestly, he didn't know how many more of these missions they could take. Yusuke was on his third life already, and he himself was on his second.

Koenma turned back to them, face schooled once more. "It has been brought to my attention that the Makai is being gradually dragged into chaos. No doubt you are aware of the multiple wars breaking out between the tribes in the north and the tensions between the empires in the south. My informants have been trying to get to the bottom of these disagreements, but made little headway until about a week ago. It is believed that psychics are to blame for more than one of these incidents."

"Psychics are behind it?" Kuwabara interrupted. "But what are they doing in the demon world? I understand the other way around but…"

"What do they have to gain from it?" Kurama finished.

"That's a very good question. After investigating that lead, our sources uncovered the name of a group of psychics that are intent on destroying all demons. They call themselves the Shadow Walkers, claiming that they search the shadows for these threats so that other innocent humans won't have to."

"And these demons?" Yusuke demanded, motioning to Akamoto and the girl. "Are these your 'sources?'"

"No, Yusuke. Akamoto-san and his daughter, Akamoto-chan, are bodyguards, selected by my father."

"Bodyguards?" There was a note of suspicion in Kurama's voice.

"Yes. Akamoto-san and his ancestors have worked with my father before. They were some of the first Spirit Detectives for the Demon World. As a result, they have my father's trust. When our sources began poking around the outer circle of the Shadow Walkers, they discovered that a reward had been put out for any human who could capture me alive. Apparently, they want to hold me for ransom so that they may avoid reprocussions for their members in the afterlife."

"And what do you want from us?" Yusuke growled, face serious. It wasn't the first time that Koenma had been threatened, but it was the first time that he had not been immediately assigned the case. Despite his talk, he wasn't sure he was ready to leave his friends' lives in someone else's hands. "If you have people that you can trust, why call us for your 'proposition?'"

Koenma suddenly seemed angry. "Simple, because while Akamoto-san and his family have shown loyalty to mine, they are far too isolated to take the agreement seriously. Once you have proven yourself to my father, you four—and you four alone—will be given the amnesty that the Shadow Walkers desire."

Yusuke blinked and exchanged confused looks with Kuwabara. "I'm not a goddam mind reader, Koenma. What do you mean?"

Kurama placed a gentle hand on Yusuke's shoulder. "For a demon to kill a human—even in self defense—is a serious crime in the Spirit World." He looked to Koenma to confirm his suspicion. The ruler of Spirit World sank into his chair, defeated, and closed his eyes. "It doesn't mean much for Kuwabara, but you are a demon now too. If King Yama finds our judgment satisfactory, we will be given permission to kill psychics in the upcoming war."

"Kill humans?!" Yusuke jumped to his feet, causing Akamoto to tense. He took a deep breath to calm himself. "It's nothing we haven't done before. After all, Sensui is dead. We've done our best to avoid it, but death is part of our missions. We knew that."

"And you were in our employment at the time. I cannot even guarantee that Sensui's death will not affect your judgment when you finally come to join us for good, due to the nature of your resuscitation. But if you are granted this amnesty, there will be no second-guessing you—no self defense investigations—you will have complete freedom." He gave Yusuke a sad look. "This has never been done before. Please, understand that nobody except my father has ever been given this freedom."

Yusuke and Kuwabara blinked in surprise and lowered their gaze respectfully. This was some serious stuff. It was the human boy who spoke up first. "So what do we know about these guys?"

One more deep breath from Koenma and he had his business face back on. "Akamoto-san, get Botan to fetch us some tea, would you?" The man grunted and moved to the door as the group turned their attention to the screen behind Koenma's desk. A profile of a human popped up.

He was in his 50s with long, slick-back grey hair, a strong square jaw, and a large, crooked nose. "This is Tsukahara Koji. He is the highest level individual we've been able to link to the Shadow Walkers. He is from Tokyo and spent 15 years in the military as a logistics officer. He is arrogant and strict with the members he controls, addressing mistakes with a harsh demonstration of his psychic abilities. He uses a technique that allows him torture someone by forcing his energy inside a person's body."

Hiei gave a very purposeful grunt at this point and glared at the girl in the corner. Akamoto-chan glared back furiously.

Clearing his throat, Koenma called their attention back to the monitor. "Although Tsukahara has significant power within the organization, we believe that his job is to oversee a Human World base and run logistics operations between his base and hidden bases in the Makai, which means that he is neither the head honcho, nor a frontline commander."

"So what is his significance to us?" Hiei demanded.

"Tsukahara is important to you because his operation coordinates with every other base the Shadow Walkers may have and because he has not yet learned who to trust with his secrets. His information management is subpar and will remain so until he figures out how to manage a crowd of non-military members who are not cemented into the organization by physical sacrifice in the Makai."

"So that's where I come in." It wasn't really a question and Kuwabara narrowed his eyes. "I'm not going to be a spy, Koenma, it goes against my code."

"I understand that. However, you will be controlling the spies we have in place. They will all claim to be trying to recruit you to the organization. It will only work for a short while and we will have to switch you out before long, but these initial phases of infiltration will yield the most information and these sources cannot be seen going directly to the Spirit World."

"And?" There was something else. He could sense it in the nervous tick of Koenma's aura.

The Spirit World Prince hesitated, but gave in shortly. "And the organization has proven to be very convincing. We have already had to take one of our men off the case before he switched sides on us. If any of the spies should fall, that would place their handler in danger, and you are the strongest psychic I can muster for this job. You are the only one I can trust to survive."

Kuwabara blanched at Koenma's bluntness but nodded in agreement. He would need to practice.

"As for the rest of you, we will need your assistance controlling their operations in the Makai. You will investigate the information Kuwabara gives you and try to control these small wars breaking out all over the place. We believe that the Shadow Walkers have spurred these in order to create casualties. If the demons destroy each other, that makes fewer demons they will have to fight themselves. You must also be careful who you inform about the psychic group. If every demon in the Makai hears about this, there will be an indiscriminate slaughter of all humans. That is something we cannot afford."

"These are humans we're talking about, Koenma," Hiei growled skeptically. "There is no way they could possibly wipe out the Makai."

"I'm afraid that you are not as safe as you think, Hiei. These psychics are quite capable. More than one of them could have easily defeated Genkai in her prime." Yusuke flashed a warning look at the mention of his recently deceased sensei and Koenma dropped the comparison. "Besides, what they don't have in strength, they make up for in intelligence. They could wipe out half of the population of Makai through these little wars. Not to mention that we believe they have obtained the Vampyre Pendant."

"Don't you ever lock that vault of yours?"

"Very funny, Yusuke. The Vampyre Pendant was entrusted to the Tokashi family in the Hokkaido region. When the clan was nearly wiped out by disease 50 years ago, the head of the family was buried with it. We have reason to believe that the Shadow Walkers wanted the pendant so badly that they exhumed the diseased body to obtain it."

"Koenma-sama, what exactly does the pendant do?" Kurama inquired politely.

"The Vampyre Pendant drains the youki from a demon and then allows the user to harness the stolen energy to attack. It was forged within the Tokashi family to protect them from the unstable Kekai barrier near their home. Portals often opened there and they needed some way to protect themselves. The technique used to make the pendant is similar to the technique used to make my old pacifier. You remember?" The group nodded solemnly.

"Koenma-sama?" Botan poked her head around the door. She looked frightened. "Koenma-sama, I've brought the tea." She waited until the Spirit World Prince gave her a firm nod before entering, carrying the tray as if she were hiding behind it.

"Have we received any new intel, Botan?"

"A few things, Sir." She began to pour the tea while she talked. "Most notably, we've obtained that the Shadow Walkers have established at least 3 bases in the Makai and are actively supplying them. Other than that, we only have the type of materials being sent. It isn't much to go on, but Akamoto-chan may find the information useful."

"What is it, exactly, that the girl is working on?" Hiei growled.

"Akamoto-chan is plotting the location of possible enemy bases."

"So a girl who has never been outside of her Kimura is going to tell us about the Demon World?" Kurama's eyes widened slightly in realization at the mention of the 'Kimura.' Akamoto-chan blushed in anger and embarrassment and she opened her mouth to defend herself, but was cut off by Koenma.

"Akamoto-chan, would you mind going down to the kitchens and asking when they intend to serve lunch? And have them make enough for the 8 of us." She was positively glowering at this point and kept looking between Hiei and Koenma. Only when her father cleared his throat did she finally make her way out, head bowed and hands clenched.

When the doors finally closed, Yusuke was the first to speak up. "Okay, Hiei, what's your problem?"

"Yeah, Shrimp, you're being even more of a bastard than usual."

"Hiei," Kurama was much less confrontational. "How did you recognize them as Kodama?" Akamoto grunted here, indicating that he would also like to know.

"Fools. The markings on his arm are distinct and there are 10, corresponding with his level of youki."

"Wait a minute," Kuwabara interrupted. Is a Kodama like a type of demon then?"

"Yes, you idiot. They are an ancient race rarely seen anymore. They are born with no youki at all and obtain their strength only after facing the Trial." Again, Hiei's statement was met with blank stares and he snarled in frustration. Kurama took over the explanation.

"The Kodama's Trial is an extremely painful experience where their youki is forced into their body. It's the same technique that Tsukahara uses. The older they are when they have their trial, the more energy they are given and the more painful the experience is. For instance, Akamoto-san had his trial at the age of 10, thus the 10 rings." The demon displayed the rings on his arm as evidence.

"Their people hide somewhere in Makai so that their completely defenseless children are not slaughtered before their trial."

"So how old was your daughter at her trial?" Yusuke asked curiously.

"Idiot!" Hiei hissed. "She hasn't had her trial yet. That's why she doesn't have any demon energy!"

Kuwabara blinked in surprise. "Well, she has to be at least 16. So I guess she's gonna be really strong, huh?"

"No." Akamoto spoke up at this point, voice solemn and angry enough to silence the group. "Nobody over the age of 12 has ever survived the Trial. Mine almost killed me at age 10, and Kimiko is 19." The group remained quiet, watching the man struggle with the thought of losing his daughter in the most painful way imaginable. For a while, he was too upset to trust himself to speak. When he finally had himself under control again, he continued. "Kimiko may not have youki, but she is not defensless, I assure you of that. She would not have survived this long if she was."

Botan jumped in at this point, voice gentle and reassuring. "Akamoto-chan is an expert tactician and she's the best tracker I've ever seen. Also, her awareness is unmatched. She was hired as Koenma's bodyguard too, remember, and for her own talents."

Kimiko entered the room again at that moment, face hard as stone, and the conversation stopped. "Lunch will be in one hour, Koenma-sama."


End file.
